Shopping list?

[micaheli]

I'm ready to purchase the first load of stuff for my 55gal aquarium. I have around 300 bucks I can allocate for equipment. I figure this can get me everything I need except lighting. Lighting will have to wait as I am saving up for Halides (rather than upgrading later).

Can people help me out with stuff to buy? How much GPH I'll need, what size pumps.. etc. I was thinking a Mag 2400 for circulation with a sump. Also need a pump for the skimmer.

Here are things I plan on DIY'ing:
Overflow (Acrylic)
Sump (Old 10gal tank)
Light Hood (just NO right now)
Skimmer (DIY Remora - Acrylic)

I am getting Southdown sand for the base - how thick should it be?

Because I don't have tons of money for liverock initially, can I buy a couple pounds to seed the livesand and rely on bio-balls temporarily? Bio-balls are MUCH cheaper than liverock - and from what I have read, as long as you don't allow physical waste to enter the bio balls, it doesn't become a nitrate factory.

Anyways, ANY help is appreciated. Also, if you have any of these items that you aren't using or would be willing to part with for cheap, let me know. I would love to save some money.

--Micah

 

[Len]

Micah,

A Mag 2400 will serve your tank fine. Consider using affordable SCWDs in the future to alternate flow; it's a simple addition you can do in the future without much work.

As for southdown, people's opinions differ. Some people are currently against the idea of DSBs while others continue to be strong proponents for it. I say 2-3" is a safe depth, but that's just my personal opinion.

Are you DIYing your own skimmer to model after AquaC's Remora? The Remora is a hang-on skimmer and I don't see a reason to copy a hang-on design if you have a sump. Depending on what design you go with, you'll need different size pumps ranging from 300-1000gph.

You may add rocks at a later date, but you'll have to cure the new rock each time in a seperate, heated, circulated container of saltwater before adding them. It's simplier to add them all at once or before you start stocking with corals and fish. Bio-balls do nitrify like live rock does, but they don't denitrify or provide habitation that LR does. It's really not a good substitue. If you're only going to be without LR for a short while, don't even bother wasting money or time with bio-balls; it's simply not worth it IMO. By the way, I consider bio-balls nitrate factories not because of organic debris that may get stuck in them, but because they are purely a nitrification machine; they perform zero denitrification so the end result is lots of nitrates.

Hope that helps. I know this hobby can be a bit expensive and overwhelming

 

[micaheli]

Just because the remora is a HOB, doesn't mean it HAS to be IN the tank. It can hang on the sump.. Which gets it OUT of the tank which clutters the tank less.

I don't want powerheads in the tank either.. which is the reason for the Mag 2400.

--Micah

 

[Len]

True, but since you're DIY'ing a skimmer, why not DIY yourself a full size version for sump use? The Remora is a good HOB, but compared to in-sump or in-line skimmers, it pales. It's up to you of course. I'd personally build a larger skimmer unless you can get the materials for a Remora DIY much cheaper.

 

[micaheli]

My tank cabinet is fairly low profile (unfortulately) and can only be a max of 18 inches tall. The remora can be sized accordingly without huge performance decrease. A normal circular tube-type skimmer would need to be TALL for the effective skimming area I need. An 18" skimmer wouldn't yeald as much skim as the remora DIY.. I was told about the AquaC Urchin. What is this design and why is it superior?

--Micah

 

[ChrisRD]

Keep in mind that if you hang the skimmer directly on the tank you may have to deal with microbubbles in the tank coming from the outlet of the skimmer. I've never seen microbubbles harm anything (with the possible exception of seahorses) but I find them annoying.

If you have your skimmer in the sump this becomes a non-issue because you can design your sump with baffles so that the bubbles can't make it to the return pump (and therefore into the main tank). IMO this is one of the really nice things about having a sump.

If your stand is too low to keep the skimmer inside the sump, what about just plumbing it to the sump and letting it sit outside the stand?

 

[Anonymous]

Won't a MAG 2400 be a bit much on a 55 Gallon ? Especially if it is not going to feed the skimmer and the sump's max capacity is 10 gallons ?
I guess that would depend on what the overflow can handle.